Figuring It Out
by clslovegood47
Summary: If only they had one more minute. If only she had turned down a different alleyway. If only she had been able to close her eyes faster. If only. As soon as her brain began functioning again, there was only thing Marinette could think to do: run.


Hello, lovely readers! Welcome to "Figuring It Out". Thank you for reading. You are AWESOME!

For those of you who have read my fic "Please Tell Me I'm Awake Right Now", consider this its angsty older cousin. I wrote this before I started writing that one, and scrapped this when I decided to take a fluffier route. Well, I figured out a plot for this one, and I hope you enjoy reading it. There are some elements in it that you may find familiar because of its relationship to my other fic.

Comments are always appreciated. They fuel my need to keep writing about these wonderful, lovesick dorks.

I cross-post on AO3 and on Tumblr.

Tumblr: gryffindorcls (I will be posting my fics to the "Princess In Training" blog. Also, come talk to me over there! I would love to discuss my stories and the Miraculous fandom with y'all!)

AO3: clslovegood47

I own nothing but the plot.

* * *

If only they had one more minute. If only she had turned down a different alleyway. If only she had been able to close her eyes faster. If only.

It was useless to think about what could have happened now. There was no point. Once the transformations melted away, all they could do was stand slack-jawed while staring at the other person. However, as soon as her brain began functioning again, there was only thing Marinette could think to do: run.

She ran without saying a word, and she didn't think to stop and see the expression on Adrien's face. It wasn't something she could deal with at that moment. Right now, she needed to get away and think. She would face the consequences later. For now, being alone would help her figure it all out.

Marinette decided that staying in her room that night would have been suffocating, so she sought refuge at the Trocadero. Usually, this was her den of inspiration, but tonight she hoped that it would be her sanctuary.

She sat in pensive silence for hours. Marinette didn't notice when the sun sank beneath the horizon causing a chill to permeate the air. It didn't even register in her mind that she was shivering in the dark until it was almost ten o'clock.

"Marinette," a small voice invaded her thoughts, "I think it's time to go home."

This finally snapped out of her trance. She looked down at her phone and cringed. While she did have a few messages from Alya and her mother inquiring as to her whereabouts, the crippling panic started to set in when she saw 5 missed calls and 17 text messages from Adrien.

She. Couldn't. Do. This.

Not right now. She just needed a little more time.

"I think you're right, Tikki," Marinette responded, "I didn't even realize that it got dark. Let's go home."

Regardless of her lack of preparedness to face her new reality with her crush and her partner being the SAME PERSON, she knew that if she didn't leave now, her parents would send out a search party. Her curfew was rapidly approaching, and she needed to have one thing go right today.

Marinette slowly got up from the bench and stretched her stiffened limbs. She moved her hands to her face and (to her surprise) brushed away wetness. Had she been...crying? She hadn't noticed, and she wasn't even sad. Overwhelmed? Yes. But sad? Definitely not.

"Something as pretty as you shouldn't be out here crying all alone, " said an unfamiliar voice that snapped her out of her reverie.

"Tikki! Hide!" Marinette whispered harshly.

She saw Tikki zoom off into the night. Before she could call for her Kwami to return, the source of the unknown voice stepped in front of her. Her means of escape was gone.

"_You are Ladybug," _she thought, "_You are smart and strong. You can get yourself out of this situation."_

Marinette looked up to see a tall, lanky man sporting a dark brown, slicked-back hairstyle. Upon further inspection, she could see his icy blue eyes. There was no kindness there; instead, she was greeted with a face that caused a knot of uneasiness to settle in her gut. She knew that she needed to leave…right now.

"Thank you for the concern," she stated briskly, "but I'm leaving now."

As she started to walk away from the bench, a clammy hand forcefully snatched her wrist. Marinette was no stranger to dangerous situations. During her time as Ladybug, she had learned to defend herself. Even though wielding a Miraculous afforded her extraordinary strength when transformed, the same powers did not carry over into her civilian form. This was not to say that she was weak as a civilian, but at this moment the foreign grip that was clenched around her hand was unusually strong.

Marinette tried to free her hand with a swift tug and was met with a second hand grabbing her other wrist. "Please stop," Marinette pleaded, "You're hurting me."

"Oh, sweetheart," her captor whispered in a voice dripping with ill-intent, "I don't want to hurt you. You're cute, and I want to see you smile. Let me show you a good time."

"NO!" Marinette cried. She delivered a swift kick to the man's shin, but this did not appear to deter him. Instead, he tugged her away from the bench with renewed vigor.

This was one of those rare moments where Marinette was out of ideas. She felt helpless...and she hated it. Nonetheless, she still attempted to escape the man's grasp.

"STOP! PLEASE!" she was crying now, "I want to go home. Please!"

His predatory gaze landed on her squirming form with malice. "You really need to stop screaming, sweetheart. It's starting to hurt my ears," he said with anger dripping in his voice.

"Then allow me to break something else on you so you can forget about the pain in your ears," a familiar voice growled behind Marinette.

Fear instantly replaced her attacker's angry glare as a dark figure reached for the hand wrapped around Marinette's wrist.

Chat was here.

_Her _Chat was here.

Marinette could always trust him to be there for her. A pang of guilt ripped through her gut at how her judgment had been clouded by the discovery of each other's identities.

How could she have ever run away from _her _Chat? The shock from earlier that day seemed trivial now.

Chat Noir lunged at the man and ripped his hands away from Marinette. The attacker winced. Not wanted to be injured more, the man recoiled. Chat gripped him harder.

"The lady said no," the hero seethed, "You need to learn some respect. Allow me to teach you."

Chat lifted the man by his shirt and snarled. Marinette has never seen her partner this angry before. His looked almost...feral.

"Chat, stop!" Marinette yelled, "He's not worth it. Go hand him over to the authorities."

The leather-clad hero never took his eyes off of the man in his grasp. "You're lucky the lady is here," he sneered.

He then turned to Marinette and softened his expression. "As you wish, Princess. I will be back in five minutes. Please stay here," he implored.

Before she could respond, Chat vaulted away with her attacker. Once again she was left alone with her thoughts in the quietness of the evening. Albeit rattled, she surprisingly felt more at peace now than before the unwanted solicitation.

"_Maybe,"_ she thought_, "just maybe this could be a good thing."_

* * *

Chat all but threw the man at the officer's feet.

"Here," he spat, "I found this one harassing a young woman in the park."

"I wasn't going to do anything," the man whimpered.

"Oh, yeah!" Chat was fuming, "It sure didn't look like that when you had your hands around her wrists and she was begging you to stop."

"We were only having some fun," the man mumbled.

Chat emitted a low, guttural growl, and the man recoiled.

Not wanting the altercation to escalate further, the officer turned to the superhero. "Thank you, Chat Noir. Your service to this city, as always, is greatly appreciated. We will make sure he is taken care of accordingly."

Chat grunted and bounded away. Marinette was right-this man wasn't worth his time. He needed to get back to his Princess.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Marinette exactly where he had left her. He was so afraid that she would run away again.

He rushed over and enveloped her into a bone-crushing hug. She returned his embrace with equal force. He proceeded to check her for any injuries and then pull her back into his arms again when he concluded that she was physically unharmed.

"Thank you, minou," Marinette whispered into his chest.

"Please don't ever scare me like that again," he managed to croak while refusing to end the embrace.

Marinette broke free from his arms to look at him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that it had gotten dark, and when I got up to leave he was there. I…" Chat cut her off.

"That's not what I was talking about. Don't get me wrong, we will be talking about _THIS_," he gestured wildly around him, "at some point. I'm talking about earlier."

Marinette tensed, and a soft "oh" was the only response that came from her lips. She lowered her head and looked at the ground.

Chat gently placed his finger on her chin and lifted it, and his heart fluttered as their eyes met. He made sure that his face showed no malice or anger; instead, he had it convey nothing but love and admiration. Because of this, he could see the tension in Marinette's body melt away.

"Princess," he began, "I think we have a few things to talk about."

Marinette emitted a soft giggle and nodded her head with the ghost of a smile. He felt his insides melt. Without hesitation, he sighed and rested his forehead against hers.

He closed his eyes and swallowed before asking, "Is there anywhere we could go and talk? Maybe somewhere a little less...public?"

"Yeah," Marinette responded breathlessly, "Umm...could we go to my place?"

"If that is what the lady wishes, then I am more than happy to oblige," he smiled. Chat could almost feel the fear of seeing Marinette in danger fade away.

Marinette smiled in return, "Silly, kitty."

Chat reached for his baton and readied himself to vault into the darkness. Marinette emitted a surprised squeak as he picked her up and held her in his arms.

He looked at Marinette with concern. The panic from moments before flooded back. "_What if she actually is hurt? What if carrying her like this is hurting her more? Surely she would have told me...right?" _Chat's thoughts raced around his head like molecules in a cloud of steam.

His mouth felt dry, "What's wrong?" he asked trying to keep his voice calm.

"It's Tikki," Marinette exclaimed, "she's my Kwami. She zipped off when that man approached me. I can't leave without her!"

It was Chat's turn to relax. He breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. Marinette shot him a glare that only Ladybug would give him when she annoyed with him.

"_I was so blind. All this time she was right there," _he mused inside his mind.

"How do you think I was able to find you so quickly, Bugaboo?" he chuckled, "Tikki came to me and told me that you needed help."

"Oh thank goodness," she said, tightening her hold, "But where are you keeping her?"

"She's hiding in my hair."

Marinette laughed. It was a sound that filled him with unbridled joy. Chat had a smile on his face as he used his baton to spring into the air.

A few minutes later, Chat landed on Marinette's balcony and allowed his transformation to drop, leaving Adrien in his stead. Tikki and Plagg zipped away without saying anything to their respective holders.

"Please, Princess," he pleaded, "help me understand. Why did you run away? With or without the mask, I'm still the same person. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you with my life," Marinette whispered with her head hung low.

Adrien reached out and touched her arm. "Then why?"

Marinette's head snapped up, and she met his gaze with eyes filled with heartache.

"Because I love you!" she shouted. Her hands pulled away from his and clasped over her mouth.

"What," Adrien was stunned, "I...what...you...you love me?"

She looked away. "Adrien, it's always been you. There's never been anyone else but you. It started as an infatuation, but as I got to know you it became so much more. You are so kind and gentle. You're not perfect, but that makes you even more wonderful. You are funny and smart and a total dork...and I love all of it. And...you never knew it, but you have my whole heart. It's yours and yours alone, but…"

Marinette choked back a sob before continuing. "Here I was pushing you away all these years because I loved you. You are my best friend, and every time I rejected Chat, it hurt me more than you can imagine. It's because I do love you, kitty. I knew that you would be an amazing boyfriend. I mean...look at you! You are the embodiment of a hopeless romantic. I knew that Chat Noir would treat me like royalty. Even if you're a goofball, you're still incredible. But I fell in love with a boy who gave me his only umbrella and told me that he'd never had friends before. I hopelessly pined for Adrien Agreste, and I didn't give Chat a chance because of it. I mean...of course, you're Adrien. Who else would you be? You used the mask to experience the freedom you could never have as a civilian. I see that now. My unfair judgment of you...I'm sorry...I was a terrible partner. I should have known."

Her tears began to freely flow, "And now it doesn't even matter anymore. I've broken your heart more times than I can count. Why would you even want to be with me anymore? I never even stood a chance. I'm so sorry, Adrien. I understand if you never want to see me again."

If Marinette had looked up, she would have seen the pure, unfiltered love in Adrien's eyes. He swiftly pulled her into a tight embrace and buried his face into her hair.

"Please don't cry, Marinette," his voice was gentle and calming, "please don't cry for me. I never want to see you sad. I love you, too."

"What?" Marinette asked.

"I love you."

"But...how?"

"First, never ask how I could love you ever again. I don't know what I did in life to deserve having someone like you, but you are a treasure. Loving you is a privilege."

Adrien moved his hands to her cheeks and wiped away her tears.

"Second," he continued, "I meant it when I said that I would love whoever was on the other side of the mask. This morning when I saw you detransform, it was the greatest moment of my life. Princess, I've always admired you, and I've always thought you were amazing. You can do so many things, and I have seen the depth of your kindness. I would be lying if I said that the thought of being with Marinette didn't cross my mind. I consider you one of my closest friends and loving you before all this would have been so easy. If anything, I've been kicking myself for not seeing that it was you sooner. I've always loved Ladybug. She's incredible, but so untouchable because I didn't know who she was. Knowing that Ladybug is _the Marinette_...wow...I didn't think I could love you any more than I already did, but I was very wrong. Knowing that it's _you_...it feels like my love became this thing I can touch. It feels real now."

To conclude, he mirrored her words, "_Of course_ you're Ladybug. Who else could it be?"

A smile spread across Marinette's face. Adrien returned the gesture by taking both of her hands in his own.

Marinette scoffed and shook her head. "We've been dancing around each other for the past three years. Jeez...we're such idiots."

"That you are," interrupted Plagg. He floated to the space between Adrien and Marinette. "I have a whole list. Don't even get me started on the time…"

Tikki zoomed over to Plagg and dragged him away before he was able to complete his sentence.

"I am so sorry," she squeaked at their holders.

"But, Sugarcube!" he whined.

Tikki glared. "You will _NOT _interrupt them. Not this time."

Adrien and Marinette could still hear the distant mumblings of their Kwamis from their hiding place across the room. They both laughed at the absurdity of their situation.

When they were finally able to compose themselves and lapse into a comfortable silence, Marinette posed a question.

"What now?" she said breathlessly.

Giving her hands a gentle squeeze, Adrien stated, "Well, I know for sure that I don't want to spend another day without you in it. Going back to a life where I can't love you openly is not an option. I would go insane."

Marinette's breath hitched and a fiery blush spread across her cheeks. Adrien chuckled and rested his forehead against hers.

"I-I don't think I want to spend a day without you in my life either," Marinette responded in a whisper.

Adrien released a short sigh of relief as an even wider smile enveloped his face. "Thank God."

"But," she began, "I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Well, we planned to reveal ourselves after the threat of Hawkmoth was gone. However, he's still here, and we know each other's civilian identities. Don't get me wrong...I'm so happy that it's you, and I definitely want to be your girlfriend...but now we could be in danger."

Adrien grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "You want to be my girlfriend?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "That's what you got out of my last statement?"

"Well, I would really like to be your boyfriend if you would be my girlfriend."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he pulled her into his arms, "What do you say?"

She reached up and ruffled his hair. "Okay. I'll be your girlfriend."

"_Purr-fect_," he cooed in her ear.

Marinette rested her head on his chest and released a happy hum. She then pushed herself away from Adrien and looked him in the eyes.

"What are we going to do about Hawkmoth though?" She bit her lip with worry.

"Easy," Adrien shrugged, "We're going to take him down."

"But we've been trying to do that for years."

"Now that we can work together as civilians, we can come up with an effective plan."

"Okay...yeah, we can do this." Marinette nodded her head in affirmation.

He shot her a toothy grin. "Good, let's go hunting for Hawkmoth."


End file.
